Device for cutting plug-tobacco.



M. KAYSER.` DEVICE PoR CUTTING' PLUGTOBAGGO.

APPIFIUATION FILED APR. 6, 1903. N0 MODEL. 3 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

lesses hre/#ors No. 745,355. PATBNTED DBO. 1, 19:03.V

M. KAYSBR. `DEVICE POR CUTTING PLUG TOBACCO.

' APPLIOATLONIILEDIAPR. 5, 1903. NO MODEL. 3 IIEETS-S'HQEET 2.

No. 745,355. PATENTED DECT. 190C.l

' M. KAYSBR.,

DEVICE TCR CUTTING PLUC` TOBACCO.

APPLIOATIOI FILED APB. 6, 1903.

3 SHEETS-SHEETS.

no MODEL.

ivo. 745,335.

satented December 1, 1903.'

PATENT OFFICE.

MEYER KAYsER, oF oURAY, ooLoRADd.y

DEVICE FOR CUTTlNG PLUG-TOBACCO.

SPECIFICATION formingpart of Letters Patent No. 745,355, dated December1, 19031 Application and April e, 1903.

To all whomzlt may concern.:

Be it known that I, MEYERKAYSER, a citizen of the United States,residing at Ouray, in the county of Ouray and State of Colorado, haveinvented a new and useful Device for Cutting Plug-Tobacco, of which thefollowing is a specification.

My invention relates to devices for cutting plug-tobacco, andparticularly to that class of portable cutting devices used Ain retailstores for the purpose of severing the purchased piece of tobacco fromthe large plug.

The object of my invention is to provide a cutting device forplug-tobacco which not only will sever the purchased piece of tobaccofrom the plug, but which atnthe same time will divide said piece oftobacco into a num' ber of small parts, either in the form of strips orcubes, which, while held together at 'the bottom, can be easily brokenoff from the main piece when so desired. This Vmethodof cutting tobaccowill obviate the necessity of having to use a knife to cut off a pieceof tobacco whenever a chew is taken; and it will do away entirely withvthe dirty habit of biting off the required chew, which habit when thepiece of tobacco is passed from mouth to mouth is very apt to breedcontagious diseases.

Toattain my object I make use of the mechanism illustrated in theaccompanying drawings, in which- Figure 1 represents a side elevation ofthe device, the lowest position of the knife-carrier and knife beingshown in full lines, while the highest position is indicated in brokenlines. Fig. 2 is 'a horizontal section taken along the line 2 2, Fig. 1,the gears being left in elevation, while the crank is broken away. Fig.3 is avertical. section taken along the line 3 3, Figs. 1 and 4, thegear-wheel, crankshaft, and pitman being left in elevation. Fig. 4 is asection taken along'the line 4 4, Fig. 3, looking inthe direction of thearrow. Fig. 5 is a perspective view of the knife-carrier, with theknives in place. Fig. 6 is a perspective view of the knife-guide andcuttingtable. Fig. 7 is an enlarged section taken along the line 7 7,Figs. 1 and 2. Fig. S is an elevation of the double knife used in mydevice. Fig. 9 is a perspective view showing the appearance of a plug oftobacco after having been divided into cubes by my ma# chine.

Similar referencenumerals refer to similar parts throughout the variousviews.

My device consists of a base 5,1nade of cast# iron or other suitablematerial, upon which are erected two parallel inverted-U-shapedstandards 6. These standards are provided at their lower extremitieswith inwardly-extending lianges 6, which rests on the upper surface ofthe base and are secured thereto by means of bolts 8. To still furtherinsure the rigidity of the device, standards 6 are fastened to eachother by means of bolts 9, which pass through inwardly-extending lugs6c, which are integral with the standards.

The horizontal portions 6g of standards 6 are provided at a point midwaybetween the vertical legs 61 with bearings 6d, through which passes acrank-shaft 10, the double crank 10a of which is located between saidstandards. Shaft 10, extending beyond one of the bearings 6d, isprovided with a gear-wheel 11, into which meshes a pinion 12, the shaft13 of which is journaled in bearings 6C and 6f,which are integral withone of the standards 6. Bearing 6e extends inwardly from the standard,while bearing 6f is formed by a bracket which extends underneath and onthe outside of the pinion. A crank 14 is keyed onto the extension of theshaft 13 beyond bearing 6f, and it is by turning this crank that,through medium of the pinion and the gearwheel7 the crank-shaft 10 isrotated.

15 is the knife-carrier, onto which are secured a number of paralleldownwardly-extending knife-blades 16. posed of two members 15a and 15",placed one on top of the other and secured firmly together by means ofscrew bolts 17, which being tapped into the member 15?L pass throughcorrespondingly-located holes in the other member, 15b. Thumb-nuts 18,screwed onto the protruding ends of the bolts 17, secure the uppermember to the lower one.

The upper edges of the knife 16 are let into parallel grooves cut intothe lower surfaeof the member 15a and are held in place by means of pins19, which pass through holes Carrier 5 is corn- ICO in the carrier andcorrespondingly-located p holes in the knife-blades.

Knife-carrier 15 is,furthermore,provided on its upper surface withoppositely-located upwardly-extending lateral lugs 20, in between whichis pivoted a pitman 21 by means of a pin 22, which passes through holesin said lugs and in the lower' extremity of the pitman. The upper end orhead of the pitman 2l is connected to the crank-pin 10b of crank 10a. bymeans of this pitman a vertical reciprocating movement to knife-carrier15.

To insure the constantly horizontal position of the knife-carrier duringits reciprocating movement and to reduce the amount of strain on pin 22when the knives are cutting through the tobacco, the'knife-carrier 15 isconnected to the standard 6 by means of parallel hangers 23, the lowerends of which are pivoted to the extremities 20 of lugs 20, while theirupper extremities are pivoted to the standards 6. In the constructionshown in the drawings three of these hangers have been employed, two ofwhich are pivoted around a transversely-located pin 24, secured to lugs20 of the knife-carrier 15, while their upper extremities are pivoted tothe standards 6 by means of pins 25, secured in lugs on said standards.The third or single hanger is also pivoted to lugs 20 of theknife-carrier by means of a pin 24:, secured to said lugs, while itsupper extremity is pivoted around one of the pins 9 and in between thelugs 6c of the standards, said lugs having been made shorteraccordingly. Pins 24 and 24 are fastened into the rextremities 201L ofthe lugs 20, said extremities being located on opposite sides of thepoint of pivot 22 of the pitman and at equal distances therefrom. Thepoints of pivot on the standards are located to one side of the centerline of the machine, which arrangement compels the carrier 15 whenmoving downward to move laterally in the direction of the arrow a, saidmovement being reversed when the knife-block is moved upward. Thelateral movement of the knifecarrier, in connection with the downwardmovement of the same, will compel the knives to shear through thetobacco or other substance with which it is brought in contact, thusfacilitating the process of cutting.

Located underneath the knife-carrier and in between the legs 6h ofstandards 6 is a rectangular inverted- U -shaped frame or casting 26,the vertical sides of which have been provided at their lowerextremities with outwardly-extending flanges 26, which rest on thebase-plate 5 and are secured thereto by means of bolts 27, while theupper or horizontal portion 26d, connecting the vertical sides 26C, isparallel to the base-plate.

Located between the upright sides 26c of the casting 26 and integraltherewith and parallel with the horizontal top 26d is a plate or shelf28, designed to support the tobacco while it is being cut.

26B and 26f are webs designed to strengthen the casting. The top orhorizontal portion 26d and those parts of the vertical sides lo- Theturning of the crank will impart` cated above shelf 28 are provided witha number of parallel slits 29, which being in line with and of a widthslightly exceeding the.

thickness of the knife-blades serve as guides for the latter duringtheir upward and downward movement.

The elevation of the horizontal part 26d of frame 26 and of the shelf 28above the baseplate is such in relation to the moving parts of themachine that when the knife-block 15 is in its highest position thecuttingr edges of the knives,while still extending in the slits 29, willbe above the lower surface of the horizontal portion 26d of the casting26, and when the knife-block 15 is in its lowest position its lowersurface will just clear the upper surface of the casting 26, while thecutting edges of the knife-blades, with the exception of the first orfront one, will be a certain distance (about one-sixteenth to threethirty-seconds of an inch in actual practice) above the upper surface ofthe plate 28.

The cutting edge of the first or front knife 16a extends fartherdownward than the other knives, and a strip 30, made of brass, copper,or other soft material, has been let into a recess of the plate 28 toreceive the cutting edge of knife 16a when the knife-carrier has reachedits lowest position.

When the plug of tobacco has been placed on top of the plate 28 and theknives are moved downward by turning the crank 14, this first knife 16awill sever the purchased piece from the plug of tobacco, while the otherknives 16 will cut the tobacco into strips which, as the knives do notreach the upper surface of plate 28, will not be separated entirely fromeach other, but will be held together at the bottom by a strip oftobacco equal in thickness to the distance between the lower edges ofthe knife-blades and the upper surface of the plate when theknife-carrier has reached its lowest position. On the return stroke ofthe crank when the knives are moved upward they will on account of theexisting friction carry the severed piece of tobacco with them until theupper surface of the tobacco engages the lower surface of the part 26Iof the frame 26. The knife-blades on being moved farther upward willthus be drawn out of the tobacco, which the moment that the knives havereached their highest position will fall back upon the table 28.

When it is desired to divide thepiece of tobacco into cubes, it is oncemore laid upon the plate 28 in a position at right angles toits formerposition or so that the slits cut in the tobacco will be at right angleswith the cutting edges of the knife-blades. The aboveexplained operationis then repeated, and the result will be a piece of tobacco divided intocubes held together at the bottom, as is shown in Fig. 9. i

As it may occur thatthe customer for some reason or other does notdesire to have his tobacco cut into strips or cubes, but prefers a ICOIIO

solid piece, I have provided my device with an extra knife-blade, bywhich the operator may cut the tobacco off the plug, as is done by themachines now in use. For this purpose one of the knife-blades (16C) hasbeen extended on both sides, said extensions 32 having been continueddownward and connected at their lower extremitiesby a second knife-blade32C, which may be integral with the extensions The distance between thissupplementary knife-blade 32c and the knife-carrier is such that whenthe knife-carrier has reached its lowest position the lower or cuttingedge of the knife 32c'will engage a strip of soft metal 3l, let into arecess inthe base-plate 5. The width of the supplementary knife-blade issuch that when the knifecarrier has reached it highest position theupper edge of the blade 32c will not extend above the upper surface ofthe plate or shelf 28, while its cutting edge is elevated sufficientlyhigh above the surface of the baseplate 5 that the plug of tobacco maybe placed on the plate 5 and underneath the cutting edge of the blade32.l Thus while the upper cutting edge 32d of the knife 16c will stillperform the same function as that of the other blades when the tobaccois being divided into strips or cubes the lower edge may be utilized forcutting a piece of tobacco o the plug, as is done by the machines now inuse. Y

The slits 29, which guide the knife 16, have been extended downwardthrough the vertical sides of the frame 26below the plate 28, andasimilar slit 29 has been cut through the plate 28, connecting the twovertical slits, said extensions and said supplementary slit thus guidingthe supplementary knife-blade 32c during its upward and downwardmovement.

To facilitate the removal of the knife-blades for cleaning or sharpeningpurposes, the distance between the standards 6 has been madesufficiently great to allow the lower member of the knife-block 15 whendetached from the upper member by removing the thumbnuts 18 to be passedbetween the legs of said standard. l

It will be understood that although the form of machine illustrated inthe accompanying drawings and hereinabove described is preferable onaccount of the various uses to which it may be put the supplementaryknife-blade is not an essential part of my device and may be eliminatedentirely-for instance, in case the purchaser already possesses anordinary single cutter. y

The elimination of the supplementary blade will reduce the device inheight, and consequently in weight, owing to the fact that in such acase the shelf 28 can be dispensed with and the standards 6 and frame 26lowered, so as to allow the first knife-blade 6 to engage the uppersurface of the base 5 instead of the shelf 28 when the knife-carrier hasreached its lowest position,

combination with a suitable operating mechanism, of a knife designed tosever a piece of tobacco from the plug,and a plurality of knifebladesfor dividing said severed piece into a number of smaller' partly-severedparts, substantially as described. 1

3. In a device for cutting plug-tobacco, the combination of a bed-platewith a suitable frame erected thereon, a knife blockfor carriersupported in said frame, suitable means for imparting a reciprocatingmovement to said carrier toward and from said bed-plate, a plurality ofknife-blades secured to said carrier, said knives being so arrangedthat, when the carrieris in its lowest position, one of the knives willengage the bed-plate while the cutting edges of the other blades remaina certain distance above said bed-plate for the purpose specified.

4. In a device for cutting plug-tobacco, the combination of a bed-platewith a' suitable frame verected thereon, a knife block or carriersupported in said frame, suitable means for imparting a reciprocatingmovement to said carrier toward and from said bed-plate, a plurality ofknife-blades secured to said carrier, said knives being so arrangedthat, when the carrier is in its lowest position, one of the knives willengage the bed-plate while the cutting edges of the other blades remaina certain distance above said bed-plate, and an additional knifeconnected with the operating mechanism for the purpose of severing thetobacco independently from the aforementioned knife-,blades for thepurpose specified.

IIO

5. In a device for cutting plug-tobacco, the

combination of a bed-plate with a suitable frame erected thereon, acarrier, having a reciprocating movement in said frame toward and fromsaid bed-plate, suitable means for imparting said movement to saidcarrier, a plate or table elevated a .certain distance above saidbed-plate, a plurality of parallel knives secured to said carrier and soarranged that when the carrier is in its lowestposition, one of theknives will engage said elevated table while the cutting edges of theother will remain a certain distance above said table, and an additionalknife-blade secured to said carrier, the cutting edge of which willengage IZO the bed-plate when the carrier is in its lowest f ciprocatingmovement in said frame toward and from said bed-plate, suitable meansfor imparting said movement to said carrier, a plate or table elevated acertain distance above said plate, a plurality of parallel knivessecured to said carrier and so arranged that, when the carrier is in itslowest position, one of the knives will engage said elevated table whilethe cutting edges of the other will remain a certain distance above saidtable, and an additional knife-blade secured to said carrier, andprovided with two cutting edges the upper one of which is in line withthe cutting edges of the before-mentioned knives while the lower edgewill engage the bed-plate when the carrier is in its lowest position,substantially as described.

` 7. In a device for cutting plug-tobacco, the combination with abed-plate, of two standards secured thereto, a cran k-shaft mounted injournals on said standards, suitable means for rotating saidcrank-shaft, a knife-carrier movably connected to said standards bymeans of suitable hangers, a pitman connecting said carrier with thecrank-pin, a rectangular frame secured to said bed-plate and providedwith a number of slits through which the knife-blades travel, a shelfrigidly secured to said frame at a point between its top and thebed-plate, a plurality of downwardlyextending knives secured to saidcarrier and so arranged that when the knife-carrier has reached itslowest position the first one of said knives will engage said shelfwhile the cutting edges of the other knives will remain a certaindistance abovesaid shelf, one of said knives being extended on bothsides, said extensions extending downward and connected at their lowerextremities by means of a supplementary knife-blade designed to engagethe upper surface of the bed-plate when the carrier is in its lowestposition, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specication in thepresence of two subscribing Witnesses.

' MEYER KAYSER.

Witnesses:

C. N. CARROLL, B. T. WAsHBURN.

